Channeling Janis Ian

A tiny article in today's Sun-Times pretty much confirmed what I've long believed about Generation Y:

"Today's teens are far more likely than their parents to believe they're great people, destined for maximum success, a study says.

Between half and two-thirds of Gen Y teens gave themselves top ratings, compared with less than half in their parents' generation."

And now if you'll allow me to put on my curmudgeon hat:

Hey kids, what's with all the narcissism and bloated egos? In my day, being a teenager was all about self-loathing, bad acne and Manic Panic. We were full of hatred and rage and sadness, and the only things that comforted us were flannel shirts, posters of Trent Reznor and hanging out at Denny's with every other suburban tortured soul.

You kids today are really missing out.

You see, you all think that because television is full of people who are famous for absolutely no reason, that you'll all be famous someday, too. But 10 years from now, you'll wake up and realize that assuming you'd get your own reality TV show probably wasn't the best career track.

When I was a teenager, we all assumed we'd never amount to anything. So when, 10 years later, some of us found ourselves with decent jobs and living in mostly rodent-free residences, we were pleasantly surprised.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go lock myself in my room and listen to Pretty Hate Machine on repeat while reading Sassy magazine.